Brandan Boyle-- Bipartisan When It Comes To One Thing: The Republican War Against Women

I'm no fan of conservative-leaning New Dem Allyson Schwartz. Earlier today, I mentioned in passing how she was one of the bought-out Wall Street shills who voted with the GOP for Bush's anti-family bankruptcy bill. But there is one area where no one can deny Schwartz's heroic stature and that's when it comes to women's issues. She has been staunchy pro-Choice and a leader in the fight for women's health issues, no small matter. It would be tragic if one of Philadelphia's most ardent opponent's of women's health, an ambitious state legislator dear to the heart of the corrupt party machine, Brandan Boyle, were to follow Schwartz into Congress and wreck the best thing about her legacy.

As we've been warning, Boyle is an anti-Choice fanatic with a horrifying record to prove it.

Boyle is as anti-Choice as any misogynistic Republican freak from rural Georgia or Texas. Boyle isn't passively anti-Choice; he's a fanatic and an activist and a danger to American women. Colleen Kennedy laid it all out for Keystone Politics readers.

State Representative Brendan Boyle (D – 170) is one of dozens who helped to pass Act 122, a law that has resulted in the closure of five women’s clinics so far, since its enactment on December 22, 2011. This wasn’t a shocking move for Boyle to make; he has been a legislative supporter of the pro-life lobby all of his political career, but what is shocking is that his anti-choice record has gone largely unnoticed in the 13th district congressional race. He is the only pro-life candidate in a race in one of the most left-leaning districts in the country, thanks to gerrymandering.

In 2004, Democrats for Life of America listed Representative Boyle as a “Pro-Life All Star” on their website, a title which today is reserved for conservative democrats like Senator Joe Manchin… In April 2011, Brendan Boyle was a prime sponsor of HB 1314, a bill that is similar in architecture to the bill State Senator Wendy Davis famously filibustered, launching her into the Texas gubernatorial race. HB 1314 required all physicians performing abortions in Pennsylvania to receive surgical privileges from a hospital within 30 miles of their clinic. In other states where this law has been on the books, clinicians have had trouble getting privileges, due to the conservative activist role that some hospital administrators have taken to block their medical privileges.

In accordance with this Pennsylvania bill, those who were found performing an abortion without such privileges would be fined and charged with a third degree misdemeanor, risking their ability to continue to practice medicine. The bill was so extreme that it did not even make it out of committee, a huge reason why many in the general public do not know of Boyle’s advocacy for the bill.

Then in December 2011, of course, Representative Boyle voted in favor of SB 732, which was passed as Act 122. Its legislative supporters assured the public that it wouldn’t close any clinics, but instead, make them safer for those using them. It included provisions that mandated all clinics as “ambulatory surgical centers”. This basically means that expensive renovations would be required of all health centers, regardless of any history of safety issues or structural flaws in a facility. It’s what reproductive choice advocates call TRAP laws, or the targeted regulation of abortion providers. Its sole purpose is to make it impossible for clinics to remain open under the weight of pointless red tape and renovation costs.

No medical associations, medical professionals, or reproductive choice advocates supported the bill, all whom are charged with lobbying for the safest possible outcomes for patients, but plenty of anti-choice legislators seeking to eliminate abortion access all together helped to make this bill law. They used the media frenzy over the Gosnell murder trial to misinform the public about clinics, and it worked. Since Act 122′s enactment, five clinics have closed.

She concluded by warning that Boyle's law "has returned Pennsylvania to the days before the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, in which abortions still occurred, but the safety of women seeking them was not valued. As you know, Blue America has endorsed Daylin Leach-- you can donate to his campaign here-- and Boyle's anti-Choice fanaticism isn't the only reason to make sure Daylin wins this race. Boyle is completely in the pocket of the anti-public school/pro-voucher forces, who have been funding his political career. Slimy anti-education dirtbags Joel Greenberg and Jeffrey Yass have maxed out to him and Boyle has been taking campaign cash from 2 of the worst anti-education outfits, the misnamed Students First PAC (Michelle Rhee's group) and Democrats for Education Reform.

Yesterday, Daylin released a new campaign ad, which you can watch up top.

"As a woman, as a mother, and as a grandmother, I know that Brendan Boyle in Congress will be bad for American women everywhere," said Diane Payne, a Northeast Philadelphia resident and retired teacher, featured in the ad. "We can't risk electing someone to be our next Member of Congress who will side with the Tea Party in Washington when they try to defund Planned Parenthood again or make it harder for women to get the healthcare they need.

  "While Boyle seems to have recently flipped on issues of abortion rights, and now is saying he supports a woman's right to choose, I don't think we can trust him, and I for one don't believe him. That's why I'm supporting Daylin Leach-- because he is the only candidate with a proven track record of standing up for choice and for women's health."

“Since before I was elected to office, and throughout my time in the Legislature, I have been a proud advocate for women and women’s health," said Daylin Leach. "I am proud of the work I have to done and the fights I have waged for women's rights, and look forward to continuing the fight in Congress.”

In April 2011, Boyle was a prime sponsor of HB 1314, which contained key parts of the same bill Texas bill that State Senator Wendy Davis fought against. (the bill did not get out of committee in the PA House). The bill requires all clinics that provide abortions to have admitting privileges to hospital within 30 miles (the same as the Texas bill) and imposes new fees on clinics, as well as slapping doctors with a third degree misdemeanor, which includes up to a year in prison, and $5,000 in fines. 8 months later, Boyle was back as a backer of the Republican War Against Women, this time voting in favor of SB732 (later called Act 122) which became law. This Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers, or TRAP legislation, forces all abortion clinics considered ambulatory surgical centers. So far, Boyle and his anti-women cronies have used it to shut down 5 facilities in Pennsylvania-- and the he PA Catholic Conference, an advocacy group for anti-choice legislation, thanked Boyle in 2011 for his vote on it.

You can thank Daylin Leach for voting against it and for championing women's health, Choice and equality. This primary is less than 3 weeks away!